Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The senior's last try as a Red Raider was good Tuesday, and so was Tech's outrageous comeback story. Down by 14 in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders rattled off 17 points in about 6 minutes to stun Virginia 31-28 and win the Gator Bowl.

So what went through Trlica's mind during Virginia's timeout to ice him?

"I try not to think about it," Trlica said.

Tech's Graham Harrell had 44-of-69 for 407 yards and three TDs, All-American Michael Crabtree had nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Red Raiders did just enough to win.

They were lucky to have a chance, after nearly giving the game away with costly penalties and a fumble. Harrell moved the ball, but Tech's high-octane offense couldn't put up points through three quarters. Though they won, the Red Raiders actually had fewer points than all but two games this year, both October losses to Missouri and Colorado.

"Those guys are hard to hold down, and we held them down for a long time," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said. "There were two possessions where we should have had the ball that we didn't _ the onside kick to start the second half and fumble at the end of the game."

The teams together shredded the 63-year-old Gator Bowl record book, as Harrell set new marks for passing yardage, attempts and completions, and Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson broke off a 96-yard TD run. It was the longest in NCAA bowl history by a running back, and second-longest in history behind Oregon State QB Terry Baker's 99-yard scamper in the 1963 Liberty Bowl.

Tech seemed sunk after a 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter failed to produce any points. It ended on Virginia's 1 yard line with an incomplete pass to Crabtree, with the clock at 5:38.

But the Cavaliers couldn't get a first down the next possession, so Tech had another chance. Harrell took them 51 yards in nine plays to make it 28-21, completing the drive with a 20-yard TD pass to Crabtree.

Then, Virginia practically handed the Red Raiders a score. The ball was knocked out of the hands of backup Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich at the 4-yard line, Tech recovered and Aaron Crawford's run a play later tied it at 28.

"I feel like we got better and better as the game went on," Tech coach Mike Leach said.

Virginia wasn't the same after losing Jameel Sewell at the start of the fourth quarter. He was running the offense well, completing 14-of-23 passes for 78 yards and running nine times for 32 yards.

Sewell was helped off the field after being tackled on the opening play of the fourth quarter. He didn't return until the last drive, and by then it was too late.

"It's still shocking right now to know that we were up 28-14 and couldn't hold it," Simpson said. "We knew they had an explosive offense, but our defense was playing good the whole game. The turnover late in the game really hurt us."

Virginia forced one of the country's most prolific and efficient passers into two safeties in the first half. They happened similarly _ Harrell was backed into his end zone and desperately tossed the ball toward his linemen, earning two grounding calls that counted for four Virginia points.

The second time he shouldn't have been in that position anyway. Tech got the ball at its own 11, then was set back to the 6 with a delay of game penalty. It was one of numerous mental mistakes the Red Raiders overcame, including a third-quarter fumble and two defensive penalties in the fourth quarter that kept Virginia going.

"We had quite a few bad breaks, a lot of which we created ourselves," Leach said.

Harrell said he was never worried. Tech didn't even enter a hurry-up offense when he got the ball back at the Red Raider 49 with 5:38 left and a 14-point deficit. Leach's pass-happy offense, which leads the nation through the air, is usually quick enough anyway.

"I was thinking, 'Hey, if we can just get into field goal range we're probably going to win this," Harrell said. "But I wanted to go throw it myself. When we kick, I just hate kicking. You're no longer in control."